Bringing you the high-speed motorcycle racing news & action from today with the race photos from yesterday & today.
Having followed AMA Flat Track, AMA Road Racing, WERA & various other series since the early to mid '70s, the adrenaline-fed rush still lives on.
Thanks for making Stu's Shots your one-stop shop for racing news, info & links to the action on & off the track!
ALL shots COPYRIGHT Mike 'Stu' Stuhler (unless otherwise noted.)

Monday, January 13, 2014

Team HRC's Barreda Finishes in 2nd-Place, Rodrigues in 4th-Place for Stage 8 of Dakar Rally

Dakar 2014

Stage 8

13/01/2014

Barreda runner-up in second part of the marathon stage

TEAM HRC’s Joan Barreda finished the eighth stage of the Rally Dakar 2014 in second place. Hélder Rodrigues crossed the finish-line in fourth, and Laia Sanz continues her run of excellent performances on the Honda CRF450 RALLY pre-production model.

The Dakar said goodbye to an accommodating and vibrant Bolivia, and has moved on to Chile. Today saw the second leg of the marathon stage, in the area of Salar de Uyuni, which had been reduced in length by some twelve kilometres.

Joan Barreda, yesterday’s winner, set about cutting down the distance with the overall race leader, opening the way in the special, in a solitary ride in which we clocked up a total time of 2’10”, second only to Cyril Despres. Barreda has clawed back four seconds from Marc Coma in the overall standings.

Hélder Rodrigues, looking far more at ease in this stage, finished fourth some 6’44” behind the stage winner, and Javier Pizzolito ended the race in eighteenth.

Honda Argentina Rally Team’s accumulation of good stage results continues with Laia Sanz always in the top twenty at the various time checks, finishing fifteenth at the end of the day. Team-mate Pablo ‘Cacha’ Rodríguez finished in the top fifty.

Joan Barreda

2nd

+2'10

TEAM HRC

It was a really long special today and I’m very pleased with the marathon. I was ahead, opening the way, pushing hard and forcing the pace to try and cause the others to make mistakes. It hasn’t happened yet, but we have done really well with a couple of great stages and I’m very satisfied with a job well done.

Helder Rodrigues

4th

+6'44

TEAM HRC

It was a good stage for me and I’ve picked up a few minutes on my nearest rivals. My goal is to fight for a place on the podium, that’s 45 minutes away, which is quite a lot, but I’m determined to give my all to achieve it.

Classifications Stage 8

1

Cyril Despres

05:23'20

FRA

YAMAHA

Yamaha Racing

2

Joan Barreda

+02'09

ESP

HONDA

TEAM HRC

3

Marc Coma

+02'15

ESP

KTM

KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

4

Helder Rodrigues

+06'38

POR

HONDA

TEAM HRC

5

Olivier Pain

+10'40

FRA

YAMAHA

Yamaha Racing

6

Mickael Metge

+12'58

FRA

YAMAHA

Yamaha Racing

7

Riian Van Niekerk

+13'15

SAF

KTM

Brother Link KTM Rally Factory

8

Daniel Gouet

+13'23

CHI

HONDA

Tamarugal Honda Racing XC Rally Team

9

Kuba Przygonski

+13'29

POL

KTM

KTM Rally Factory

10

Jordi Viladoms

+13'34

ESP

KTM

KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

General standings after Stage 8

1

Marc Coma

36:06'19

ESP

KTM

KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

2

Joan Barreda

+38'08

ESP

HONDA

TEAM HRC

3

Jordi Viladoms

+01:27'22

ESP

KTM

KTM Red Bull Rally Factory

4

Alain Duclos

+01'49'09

FRA

SHERCO

Sherco Rally Factory

5

Jeremias Israel

+01'52'05

CHL

SPEEDBRAIN

Team Speedbrain

6

Olivier Pain

+01:59'07

FRA

YAMAHA

Yamaha Racing

7

Kuba Przygonski

+02:06'06

POL

KTM

KTM Rally Factory

8

Helder Rodrigues

+02:12'41

POR

HONDA

TEAM HRC

9

Cyril Despres

+02:23'58

FRA

YAMAHA

Yamaha Racing

10

Daniel Gouet

+02:38'51

CHI

HONDA

Tamarugal Honda Racing XC Rally Team

TOMORROW'S STAGETuesday, January 14 Stage 9: Calama - Iquique Liasion: 29 km Special: 422 km Total: 451 kmA steep drop: thrills guaranteedThe 2014 Dakar will reach its most northern point in Iquique, where the competitors will see the ocean for the first time this year. Above all, the drivers and teams will discover the Atacama Dunes again after a first part of a special stage which will be rather tedious. Dune specialists will be in command over a distance of almost 150km. Thrills will be guaranteed at the very end of the day, on the last three kilometres of the descent to Iquique: there is more than a 30% difference in height from start to finish and it is almost not recommended to break. The law of gravitation takes on its full meaning: the bivouac is not far away!

Indy Eagle Creek Airport Weather

U.S. EST/GMT -05

Indianapolis

The King

The 4-1-1

Fan of all racing, but the bikes are what makes the adrenaline flow and the rush set in.
In what started as an attempt to share and scrapbook my racing catalog, I have since streamlined my coverage to give a more updated and behind the scenes look at motorcycle racing from the eye of my camera and from my perspective as a long-time fan.
So stay tuned for coverage of AMA Pro Flat Track and Road Racing, along with some of the other series that showcase the great sport of 2-wheeled high speed racing!
You can e-mail me @: stuman714@yahoo.com